Any thoughts on how this one may go? It's Fed's first final in 2 months, and Nadal is looking to extend his streak on clay. Both had tough semis today!

Personally, much as I want to believe that Fed will do it, I really think he has some sort of mental block with Nadal now. I reckon he'll do better than their last match - hopefully take a set, but i'm really not sure that he believes he can beat Nadal on clay.

well.... much as I would like Fed to do it - its gonna be Nadals surely? Feds best hope is that Hewitt ran Nadal ragged today and he's too tired to bother!

I think todays match may have given Fed some much needed confidence but agree with you Jo that its a mental thing for Fed now. And on clay? I just dont know hes going to believe he can do it.

And tbh, I know I said I think Feds got the weapons to do it - but Nadal is sooo flying at the moment, that right now, I am not sure Fed can beat him.

Happy to be proved wrong as always though. :)

I'm not sure. I tend to think Nadal will win, but Fed may have gained some confidence seeing Davydenko and Hewitt giving Nadal some trouble. Hopefully it will be a close, high quality match either way.

I think and hope Nadal will win but I think Federer has raised his game this week and have a feeling it could be a close one with Nadal just having too much for Fed in the end

Nadal will win. I see absolutely no scope for debate.

I was thinking about it though, and a lot of people in the past, especially myself, have been advocating a more offensive game from Federer in order to take out Nadal on clay, with more serve volleying and net approaches. Judging by what's happened over the last couple of weeks, I wonder if it might be in Federer's best interests to mimic the defensive style of Hewitt or No Weapons? By that I mean, playing Nadal almost at his own game, i.e. safe play - eliminating unforced errors, not giving him many chances to counterpunch and using angles nicely. Federer won't use this tactic today, or probably ever, but I wonder if he's considered it?

I didn't see the Davydenko match, but from the Hewitt match it seemed to me as if he used the same tactic against Nadal that Nadal uses against Federer: he peppered Nadal's forehand side in a cross-court exchange, until Nadal misfired or the ball dropped short. (This is oversimplifying things a bit, but it's an essential part.)

Fed will be unable to do this as these exchanges exactly correspond to one of his major weaknesses against Nadal; i.e. the cross-court one-handed backhand.

However, overall I agree with you: to be able to take the game to Nadal, you first need to be able to take control of some of the rallies from the baseline, and only throw in the occasional drop shot / S&V / net approach when you have gained the right position to do so.

I'm not giving up hope completely though. Fed has been able to outplay Nadal on clay before, just never for a whole match. The important thing is to keep varying his tactics, because otherwise Nadal will be able to adapt after a while.

Go Roger!

:coffee: I actually do agree.... But I am thinking ....Federer might vary his game a bit this time.... It seems to me he might want to use this occassion to adjust his game and find a good level for Roland Garros...

But the devil is always in the details... I hope he doesn't try anything overly clever and end up being skinned alive.....

Surely Leyton showed that it takes just a bit of "balls" :P and a little tenacity to give Nadal a run for his money... I hope Fed does the same in a more refined measure as I know he can.....

Who knows..but I feel if Fed doesn't play like he is possesed...Nadal will still take it..

Its a bit of a conundrum , what tactics Fed should use. One things for sure he cant afford to make many errors , keep the ball in play .
Itll be interesting to see if Tenez's theory about the weather/bounce will hold true !
Surely Federer can beat Nadal on clay at least once ! Im not getting my hopes up though .

Hi Big al - There is no doubt that a cooler weather will facilitate Fed's task. Whether the cool weather will be enough is another matter. Herrr..m!!!.

The other factor is Fed finding the "zone", meaning going through "un etat de grace" like he had against Roddick or Hewitt, then it could be one sided in Fed's favour.

I don't see this happening today so a very tough match for Fed in perspective.

Yeah agree. He needs to play one of the best matches of his life to beat Nadal. Most of the time Nadal will win , unless he's jaded after his long unbeaten run.
I think theres a doubles match on first..

The doubles match has finished, with the Bryan brothers winning in straight sets!

Commentators saying that a best of as opposed to best 5 will advantage Federer....but I disagree on that point. I actually believe that might be his oly chance to beat Nadal at the French this year as he did in Miami 3 years ago.

Typical Roger and the referee waiting for Nadal at the net.

Why doesn't Nadal EVER comes first to the net?

It's a detail, I agree but for Nadal it is very important to impose his rhytm, his will at any stage in the match.

:doh:

Federer has OBLTERATED NADAL in bagelling fashion....This day had to come and Federer had to be the one to stop him.

FEDERERERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Please join me on my alliterative post for some alliterative fun designed by Tony Almeida...

FEDERER IS THE MAN!

And finishes in style , a bagel with his Hamburger ! ;)

Now the "haven't-beaten-Nadal-on-clay" monkey has been well and truly yanked off his back, the grand slam looks a real possibility..... Feds will go into RG with confidence sky high!

:giggle:

Nadal must've been well and truly knackered :(

Still well dont to Fed, broke a record(again) :lol:

fed was going to beat him on clay eventually. well done fed :clap:

:D

(wonders what Wise would like with his humble pie today :D )

look what federer said:

"I returned better and I served better and I was dictating play,"


I am saying that was what he needed to do on this board for ages and finaly someone agrees with me :whistle:

glad fed finally got a win over nadal on clay :)

really hoping he will in RG! she has a real chance, and i think he has waited long enough now !
take the grandslam this year :D

She? who's she? :huh:

:gchampion: Roger?

ROOOOOOOOOOOOGERRR ROGER FEDERER ! The only man i ever loved!!

It doesn't really take a genius to work that out though, does it ... :whistle:

What are you trying to say? that Federer is no genius? :whistle:

So you think it takes a genius to realize that serving better, returning better and dictating play will improve your chances of winning? :doh:

The problem is actually *doing* it :doh:

Nadal remains favourite for RG, but what a -WHAT A-result for Federer. To bagel Nadal on his territory will do wonders for his confidence...but yet again shows any doubters what he's capable of.

I can't wait for RG, now...not because I think it will be the Federer show...but because it could live up to all prior expectations.

No

But when all the people (including Roger) were trying to found out a new way for roger to beat nadal i was keep saying that he only need to serve better return better and dictate play.

That´s it :ok:

Credit to Roger on finally beating Rafa on Clay! it has to be said though Rafa was exhausted after the amount of Clay court Tennis he has played in recent times! he will still go into the French as overwhelming favourite and id expect him to win it for a 3rd straight year.

Yes Nadal is still the favourite but now Fed knows he can beat Nadal and more importantly Nadal knows that he can suddenly lose the grip on a clay match. This will certainly affect his confidence in key moments...and matches are always decided in those key moments.

Excellent news indeed :D :clap: :clap: :clap:

This goes to show how remarkable and commited a player Federer is. Going into this match most seemed to think that is was easily Nadal's, but despite a dissapointing start to hsi clay court campaign and losing his coach Federer ups the stakes again and outplays Nadal. Astounding really, given that he was the underdog, apparently did nto have the mental edge over Nadal and has had all those troubles of late.

Promising for the FO, I'm tno sayign Fed is going to win it though but he will certainly l be able to go into it with hsi confidence sky high and knowing he's gradually working Nadal out. The pressure will be all on Nadal should they meet in the final. Nadal does play well under pressure though, it has to be credited so we will see.

I would say, more so than it has to be said, it is inevitable that this excuse will be used. ;)

Yeah, he wasnt tired in the first set and could easily have broken and won the second easily as well . I suppose he could have been a little mentally tired after his long winning streak , but same could be said for Federer and his slump.

I do believe Nadal was tired. Half a step slower and that is enough to make a big diference in his game. Suddenly the court becomes bigger for Fed to aim at (and nadal to cover). When one thinks the number of points Nadal wins by passing his opponent while being completely stretch lost in one corner of the court, it is easy to realise that a little bit of tiredness can have a big impact here. Also, I mentioned that nadal's biggest strength v Fed is the top spin. If again Nadal gets to play more shots than he is used to, his FH and Bh may lose a little bit of bite, hence less top spin on the shots making fed's life a lot easier. We clearly saw how good he became at returning Nadal's serve, thing that under hot conditions and a fit Nadal, the outcome might be reverted back to what we were used to.

I bet he's wishing he didnt play Hamburg now ! ;)
Federer scores a big mental victory . Though has no bearing on the outcome at RG if they meet .Rafa will be well rested and looking to get a hat-trick of titles. We'll just have to pray for cold weather that day :pray:

You right. Rafa probably wish he hadn't played Hamburg. At the same time he minimised the gap in ATP points by reaching the final. A win is a win. Tired or not tired, now Nadal knows he can lose and Fed knows he can win. So if it gets close like in Rome in the FO final (should they get there), the Hamburg win could play a decisive role.

Nah, Hamburg would have been a regret if he'd just crashed out early. Reaching the final still added to his points total, and now he's been in every Masters final apart from Cincinnati and Bercy. Of course it probably does him no good seeing as Federer not only defended his Rome final points (belatedly) in a sense, but built on them, as well as breaking his so-called title 'drought.'

I think even if Nadal hadn't been fatigued he still would have lost; the scoreline just would have been much tighter (say 6-2, 4-6, 4-6) than the complete washout it was. (In fact doesn't that scoreline mirror the Dubai final?) Federer had both the confidence, performance and the game plan to prevail on the day.

Its now hard to imagine Federer losing to Nadal on grass or hardcourt after that performance .